The Killer
by Mist2393
Summary: Sequel to "The Servant". Nikola and Kiri return to London just in time for Jack the Ripper to begin murdering women. Doubts abound as the Five struggle to figure out who is the murderer, especially when suspicion and blame falls on two of their own. Unfortunate Magnitt because I'm sticking to canon, also some Teslen. T for some violence because there are murders
1. Prologue

**Finally I have managed to finish the first chapter for this, the sequel to "The Servant". Really more of a prologue, since really this chapter is just here to get everyone in one place and to kill off the first Whitechapel victim. This story is based around the Jack the Ripper murders and all that fun stuff. Kiri is back. Nikola is back. This story is going to be rather angsty because of reasons, but we all know how it'll end (assuming we've all seen the show). Annnyway, enjoy. I'll try to have another chapter within the next couple of days, but we'll have to see.  
**

**PS - Special thanks to Sparky She-Demon, because in all honesty without her pushing this probably would've taken me another month to finish.  
**

**PPS - I meant for this to go up last night, but then fanfiction was like "lol nope"  
**

**Disclaimer: Really not mine. Only Kiri is. She does slave labor in my basement.  
**

**The Killer**

It was almost two in the morning in June when Nikola Tesla's boat pulled into the dock in London. They had been scheduled to arrive at eight the night before, but a storm at sea had caused major delays. Even so, he could see Helen Magnus, John Druitt, James Watson, and Nigel Griffin were standing a short distance away, searching the faces of the people lining the side of the boat. Nikola was not in that crowd, however. He was in his room, making sure he looked as clean as possible. He was wearing his one nice suit, and he had left it hanging in the closet for the entire trip to keep it from getting dirty. The older suit he'd been wearing for most of the trip had obvious salt lines on it as a result of the storm waves. Once the ship stopped moving, Nikola picked up the single small suitcase he had with him and joined the line of people leaving. As soon as he was on solid ground, he heaved a sigh of relief, glad to be off the ship. Before he could truly get his bearings, something ran into him from the front, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Niko, you're back!" Helen exclaimed as she pressed herself against him. Nikola chuckled as he returned the embrace. As they pulled apart, the other three walked over, each shaking hands with Nikola.

"How is New York?" James questioned curiously. "We heard things have been rather difficult."

"Things are beginning to look up," responded Nikola, smirking.

"We always knew they would," Helen remarked, smiling. The group left the docks, heading back to the Magnus mansion, which Gregory had offered up for them to use as long as Nikola was in town, which would be around a year. He would actually be traveling around Europe, but he wanted to have somewhere to stay that was closer than New York. During his first few days there, he spent most of his time in the lab Helen had offered him, setting up the experiments he had brought with him.

A week after Nikola had returned, the five scientists were sitting in the living room, drinking wine, talking, and listening to the summer storm outside. Suddenly the doorbell rang, and they turned towards the door into the foyer as a flurry of activity could be heard by the front door. The door opened, and a very wet, tired Kiri stood there, her dress dripping water onto the floor.

"This storm is biblical," she remarked, smiling at the others. Nikola and Helen both stood, surprise on their faces.

"Sestrice, what are you doing here?" Nikola questioned, walking over to her. Kiri glanced up at him before looking back down at where she was attempting to unlace her shoes with numb fingers.

"I was in France when an old ship captain friend of mine told me that you'd sailed with him here. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see everyone," she replied, grinning up at them again. Nikola bent down to help Kiri with her shoes.

"And you decided it was a good idea to walk here from the train station in a storm?" Helen demanded, grabbing a blanket to wrap around the girl. Kiri smiled at her gratefully.

"I didn't have any opportunity to tell you I was coming, and I don't have any money for an inn," she responded defensively, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself. Helen placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come with me, you need to change into something dry," she offered, walking into the hallway. Kiri followed, throwing a smile over her shoulder at the boys. Helen led the way up to her bedroom, where she gave Kiri a new dress to wear. Helen was tying the last knot for Kiri when there was a knock on the door. Helen opened the door to reveal Nikola, who smirked.

"Why Helen, inviting me into your room already?" he questioned, cocking an eyebrow. Helen gave him a strange look as she passed him.

"You've changed, Niko," she stated, furrowing her brow.

"It's been ten years, Helen. A lot has happened in that time." Nikola turned and walked through the open door, where Kiri was watching curiously. He immediately enfolded her into a tight hug. She instantly returned the hug, a look of confusion on her face.

"Nika, is something wrong?" she inquired, pulling back slightly.

"Where have you been? There were times I needed you," Nikola responded, tightening his hold. Kiri stood on her toes and pecked his cheek lightly.

"I am so, so sorry," she whispered. "I wanted to be there, I honestly did. But I also honestly believe that things will be better for you now. It's already starting to look better, right?"

"Yes. Westinghouse is a godsend." Nikola pulled away, a sudden grin on his face. "I think I might finally be becoming successful." Kiri grinned as well, her eyes shining.

"That's good to hear. I'm proud of you, even if the rest of the world can't see how great you are yet." Kiri reached out and lightly pushed Nikola. The vampire searched Kiri's face for a moment before sighing in exasperation.

"You haven't been taking care of yourself very well, have you? You look exhausted," he remarked. Kiri rolled her eyes.

"You're not exactly one to talk," she countered, grinning. "But you're right, I'm exhausted. Do you know if my old room is free?"

"As far as I know. Helen seems to have kept all of our rooms open." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her to the bedroom opposite Helen's, which did indeed seem to be open. One of Kiri's books was even still sitting on the bedside table. Kiri crawled into the bed and under the quilt. Nikola kissed her temple gently before turning to leave.

"Good night, Nika," Kiri called.

"Laku noć," Nikola replied as he closed the door. He didn't bother going downstairs, instead returning to his own room, where he spent most of the night planning and designing a new invention.

That night a woman was murdered in Whitechapel.

**Laku noć - Good Night**


	2. Accusations and Thievery

**Sorry this took me so long. I haven't been sleeping well, and I have trouble writing when I'm exhausted. So I gave you some Nikola/Kiri sibling-fluff to make up for it. Hope you enjoy. Oh, also, John is a tool (in this chapter, and in general).**

**Disclaimer: Kiri is mine.  
**

The next day, Kiri didn't join the others in the library until well after lunch, looking much better than she had the night before. She joined Nikola on one of the couches, watching him fiddle with a piece of metal. Helen and John were sharing a loveseat across from them, Helen in John's arms as they both read quietly. Nigel and James were sitting in a far corner, debating about something quietly.

"Sestrice, watch this," Nikola instructed quietly, his eyes catching Kiri's. She watched as he held the piece of metal in the palm of his hand, and focused on it. Sparks began arcing across its surface, and Kiri's eyes lit up.

"That's brilliant," she exclaimed, grinning. Nikola allowed a small smile to spread across his face at Kiri's expression.

"I can do some other things too. Perhaps tomorrow you should come to the lab Helen has lent me," he suggested. Kiri's eyes lit up even more and she nodded.

"I would love to!" She wrapped him in a tight hug, pecking him on the cheek before pulling away. At that moment, there was a knock on the door and Lillian, Helen's new maid, walked in timidly.

"Excuse me, ma'am, there is some one here to see Mr. Watson," she informed them, curtsying slightly.

"Thank you, Lillian. You may show them in," Helen responded, pulling away from John. James and Nigel moved to the chairs the stood between the couch and loveseat. Lillian left, then walked back in followed by a stranger. The man walked over to the group of six, looking nervous.

"Mr. Watson, your presence is requested in Whitechapel," the stranger told him. James furrowed his brow, glancing at the others.

"May I ask why?" he questioned curiously.

"There's been a murder, sir," the man responded. There was a collective gasp, and James stood up, pulling on his gloves. Lillian hurried over, carrying his jacket.

"I will see you all later tonight," he said before leaving, following the stranger. As soon as he was gone, Helen turned to John, her eyes worried.

"Do you suppose it was someone we know?" she asked. John wrapped his arm back around her, kissing the top of her head.

"I see no reason to think that someone we know would have been in Whitechapel last night," he responded, squeezing her lightly. Helen giggled, leaning into him. Across from them, Nikola avoided looking at them, focusing on the metal still in his hands, his eyes hard. Kiri reached out and placed her hand on his knee comfortingly, giving him a small smile.

"Žao mi je," she whispered, squeezing his knee. Nikola placed his hand over hers, smiling in reply.

"Znam, sestrice," he responded.

"Come on, you two," Nigel complained from the chair next to them. "Haven't I told you how much I hate when you do that?" Nikola and Kiri turned to face him, both with playful glares on their faces.

"Not English enough for you?" Nikola questioned, chuckling.

"Not English at all and that's my point," Nigel countered. "For all we know, you two could be plotting our demise."

"That is precisely what we are doing, Nigel," Kiri told him, grinning. The three of them laughed, causing Helen and John to look over, both with eyebrows raised.

"Are you three alright?" Helen finally inquired as they struggled to stop laughing.

"We're perfectly fine, Helen," Nigel responded, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Who do you think was murdered?" Helen questioned after a moment.

"It was a lady of the night. Her name was Mary Ann," Kiri told them quietly, leaning against Nikola, who wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. They all knew that Kiri was friends with most of the seedier members of London's population, and it was plain that the death had affected her more than she was letting on.

"Why didn't you tell James about any of this?" John demanded, causing Nikola to shoot him a glare over her head.

"The police already knew, and I figured it would only be a matter of time before they called him anyway," she replied, shrugging.

"Are we to believe you didn't know about this before the police, and you chose not to tell them?" John pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"You may believe whatever you wish, Mr. Druitt." With that, Kiri stood and walked away, heading towards her bedroom. As soon as the door closed behind her, Nigel turned to Nikola.

"Is there something going on between you two?" he inquired, gesturing in the direction Kiri had gone. Nikola looked confused for a second, but then his eyes widened and he gave a look of disgust.

"Lord no!" he exclaimed, wincing. "Kiri's practically my sister. I cannot imagine courting her!" As he spoke, he glanced at Helen, who appeared almost relieved for a moment.

"So where were you last night?" John questioned accusingly. Helen hit him lightly, glaring at him.

"John, what's with all the questions?" she asked, giving him a questioning look.

"I simply think it is suspicious that Kiri didn't tell anyone about the murder, and she and Nikola disappeared last night." John gave Nikola a pointed look, while both Helen and Nigel gasped.

"Are you actually accusing Kiri and Nikola of murder?" Nigel demanded with anger in his eyes.

"Merely stating a suggestion," replied John smoothly, his face still a perfect blank mask. At that, Nikola scoffed and left, anger and hurt plain in the way he carried himself.

The next day, Nikola arrived at his lab to find Helen and Kiri already there. Kiri was sitting on one of his tables, reading one of Nikola's notebooks while Helen stood next to her, looking over her shoulder quietly. At the sound of his footsteps, they both looked up, smiling in greeting.

"Nika, this is brilliant!" Kiri exclaimed, holding up the notebook. Nikola grabbed the book back, giving Kiri a look.

"This is also private," he responded, feigning anger. Kiri grinned at him, her green eyes glittering mischievously.

"If it was private, you shouldn't have left it sitting on the table," she teased. Nikola's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I keep my notebook next to my bed," he told her, his tone conveying his curiosity. Kiri smirked as she hopped down, grabbing the notebook out of Nikola's hands.

"Thanks for telling me, big brother." She began to skip away, waving the blank notebook as she went. Nikola opened and closed his mouth in surprise.

"Wait, d-don't read my notebook! That stuff is private!" he finally called just as Kiri disappeared from sight. He heard her giggles from around the corner, and she returned to the lab.

"Dearest Diary, today the electricity spoke to me. I think it likes me," she pretended to read off the notebook in her hand. Nikola just glared at her as she giggled again, walking over to stand in front of him. "Stop worrying, Nika, I won't read your books unless you let me. I simply felt it had been too long since we've been able to have fun together." She wrapped her arms around Nikola's neck, pulling him into a hug. He returned the hug, smiling gently.

**Žao mi je – I'm sorry**

**Znam - I know**


	3. The Bracelet

**I'M BACK! My deepest, sincerest apologies for the epically long wait. I always have trouble writing during the summer. Also apologies for the epically bad chapter I'm giving you. It sucks, I know. It's horrible, and should never see the light of day. But I swear the next one will be better. I also swear the wait will not be nearly as long. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out within a week or two. _Anyway_, read, hate it, tell me you hate it (because I know you do. Because it sucks.)**

Over the next couple of weeks, Nikola and Kiri spent most of their time in the lab together. Nikola was enjoying showing off everything he had discovered in the past ten years to Kiri, who reacted to everything with the same sense of wonder and awe. One day, about three weeks after Kiri had arrived, she and Nikola were in Nikola's lab when John burst in, followed closely by Helen, James, and Nigel. Kiri jumped and let out a yelp, slipping off the counter she'd been sitting on. Nikola looked up from the notebook he'd been writing in.

"Can I help you?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"You killed another one," John stated. Nikola furrowed his brow in confusion, and Helen stepped forward.

"We know you haven't taken your medicine since you got here," she told him. John pulled Helen close protectively.

"I told you he's a monster," he snarled. "He needs to be locked up!" James moved forward just as Nikola was about to say something.

"John, this is a serious accusation. Do you have any proof?" he asked. John pulled a small knife out of his pocket and cut his hand. Nikola instantly vamped out, and Kiri was at his side in an instant, whispering something in Serbian. After a while, Nikola was human again, panting as he glared at John, who was smirking.

"See? He can't control himself," he said. Kiri let out an angry sound, stepping in front of Nikola.

"Nikola's been in here with me!" she exclaimed. "There hasn't even been any blood to make him lose control." John made a disbelieving sound. He walked forward, grabbing Kiri's arm and holding it up to reveal a recent bite mark.

"It seems he has recently," he announced. Kiri yanked her arm back, then shoved John.

"That's not even from Nika!" she yelled. John's eyes flashed in anger at being pushed, but Kiri wasn't done. She shoved him again, glaring. "You've already ruined Nika's life enough! Why can't you just leave him alone?!" There was a collective gasp. _That_ was a serious allegation. Helen stepped forward, brow furrowed.

"Kiri, what do you mean?" she questioned. Kiri turned away.

"Nothing." She took Nikola's hand and dragged him out, Nikola going with her with a bewildered look. As he passed the others, the sleeve on his suit slid up to reveal a silver bracelet with a dark ruby set in the center.

A week later, Nikola and Kiri were once again in Nikola's lab. Nikola had his suit coat off, folded carefully over the back of a chair, and his sleeves were rolled up. Kiri was standing nearby, next to a switch. Helen and James walked in, and James held up a bracelet with a ruby, covered in blood.

"John appears to be right," James remarked. Nikola frowned.

"What? Where'd you find that?" he asked, walking towards James. Helen met Nikola halfway, and put a hand on his chest.

"Just admit it's you, and we'll get you help, Niko," she whispered. Nikola looked like he had been slapped, and Kiri approached him, taking his hand. Nikola clenched his jaw, looking as though he was trying hard not to get angry.

"It's not me, Helen. If I had been killing these women, don't you think I'd tell you?" He sounded hurt, rejected, and looked more upset than he had when Gregory had denied his request to court Helen. The knowledge that Helen didn't even trust him anymore was like a knife through the heart. Kiri glanced up at him, then over at Helen and James.

"We should leave, Nika. They're never gonna listen to us, even if it's so obvious who's doing this." She ground her teeth, grabbing Nikola's bracelet out of James's hand as she passed, tugging Nikola with her. She didn't even look at Helen and James, afraid that if she did she would just get angrier. She couldn't believe that they would continue to accuse Nikola. The vampire followed Kiri out of the house and down some streets to the apartment they had shared after Nikola had been kicked out of school. Nikola furrowed his brow at Kiri.

"Is this place empty?" he asked. Kiri shook her head.

"I own it. I have a lot more money than you might think, I simply choose not to use it to buy myself a giant mansion." She glanced around as she walked inside before plopping down on the couch. "I know how to make them see you're not the killer." Nikola sat down next to her, sighing.

"I just want to rest for a while, sestrice. We can discuss that tomorrow," he whispered. Kiri nodded, smiling. She leaned against Nikola's shoulder, and they sat in silence for a few minutes, until there was a knock on the door. Kiri stood to answer it, somewhat surprised to see Nigel there.

"I believe you're innocent," he announced, walking in. "And I'm going to stay with you until we prove that it's not you." He sat down in the armchair while Kiri reclaimed her seat on the couch. Nikola looked at him curiously.

"What makes you so sure?" he asked. Nigel shrugged.

"Only an Englishman would be good enough to pull of these murders without having been caught yet," he replied teasingly. "And because I never did like Johnny. He's a little…you know…intense." Nikola chuckled at that, smiling.

"We only have two bedrooms," he pointed out.

"I can sleep out here," Kiri said, grinning. "_Or_, we could all sleep out here and pretend we're on a camping trip." Nikola ruffled her hair, laughing.

"You can have the bedroom, sestrice. I don't sleep much anyway, remember?" He glanced at a clock in the corner. "Anyway, it's past your bedtime. Off to bed with you." Kiri made a face, but stood, kissing his cheek before bouncing down the hallway to her bedroom. Nigel said goodnight to Nikola and went to his own room, leaving Nikola alone in silence. He sighed, feeling cold and broken inside. It wasn't long before he started a fire in the fireplace, sitting next to it with a blanket wrapped around him in an attempt to warm up.


	4. Late Night Guests

**Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry for the loooooonnnngggg hiatus. School got in the way. Anyway, I have the next chapter mostly written, and there's only a couple chapters left after that. All I have left is finals, so I'm hoping to finish this story up before the end of winter break. This chapter's short and kind of boring, mostly just a filler chapter to set up the next chapter which sets up them finding out the John's the Ripper. Anyway, nothing recognizable is mine. Enjoy and review please :)**

Nikola spent the next few days doing what could only be described as moping. Kiri and Nigel took turns trying to cheer him up. Whoever wasn't with Nikola was in London trying to clear Nikola's name. It had been almost a week when James showed up. Kiri and Nikola were together, Kiri was making dinner for both of them. There was a knock on the door, and Kiri went to answer it. She smiled when she saw James.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"Can I talk to you in private?" James inquired. Kiri nodded and stepped out of the apartment, closing the door behind her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Helen's pregnant. And something's wrong with her and John." James shifted, glancing up as Nigel approached. Kiri smiled at him.

"Nigel, can you finish dinner? I'm going out," she questioned. Nigel nodded.

"Sure." He went inside, leaving James and Kiri alone again.

"You're coming with me?" James asked. Kiri nodded, smiling. She followed James to the Magnus mansion and into the living room, where Helen was sitting curled up in front of the fireplace. Kiri went to her side, smiling softly.

"Hello, Helen," she greeted, sitting down.

"I think he's been with other women," Helen told her. Kiri took her hand, squeezing gently.

"Why do you think that?" she asked quietly.

"He's out all the time and when he comes back he smells like perfume," Helen replied. Kiri shifted slightly.

"How do you know he's not just meeting a woman? For work or something of that sort?" She had ideas about where John had been, but she wasn't ready to tell anyone yet. Helen reached into a small bag at her side and pulled out a golden ring.

"I found this in his drawer. It's too small for him, but it's too big for me." Kiri wrapped her arms around Helen.

"You should talk to him about it," she suggested. Helen nodded, pulling away. The door opened, and John walked in. He sneered at Kiri.

"Why aren't you with your pet?" he asked, walking forward. Kiri tensed, but before she could say or do anything, Helen stood up, her eyes defiant.

"Kiri is here because I asked her to come. I wanted to tell her the good news." She smiled softly, one hand dropping to her stomach. John nodding, looking towards Kiri.

"Are you done siding with murderers?" he asked. Kiri grinned.

"I never side with murderers, sir. I don't like violence." She stood and hugged Helen. "I should be getting back. I'll talk to you later/  
Helen nodded, returning the hug. Kiri pulled away and returned to her apartment. Nikola and Nigel were eating, and Kiri joined them. The three of them cleaned up and Nigel went to bed, leaving Nikola and Kiri on the couch, where they talked quietly. They eventually fell asleep, curled up on the couch together. At around two in the morning, there was a pounding on the door. Nikola made it to the door first, while Kiri and Nigel stood in the living room, watching curiously. Nikola opened the door, and Helen walked inside. Her face was bruised, and she was obviously trying hard not to cry. Nikola led her to the couch to sit down.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Kiri sat down on Helen's other side, carefully examining her bruise. Nigel brought over a bottle of wine and poured Helen a glass.

"John hit me," Helen told them. "I thought it best if I left to give him time to calm down." Kiri nodded, standing.

"Come on, you can stay in my room." Kiri took Helen's hand and they disappeared into Kiri's room. Nigel and Nikola glanced at each other. Nikola let out a small growl.

"I'm going to kill him," he threatened, his claws extending. Nigel sighed.

"That might not help clear your name," he remarked. Nikola scoffed, looking away.

"He used to hit Kiri, and now he's hitting Helen," he countered. "He deserves it."

"Perhaps. But we're trying to prove you _haven't_ killed anyone," Nigel pointed out. Kiri appeared, sitting down between them. She looked up at Nikola, smiling.

"Nigel's right, Nika. You can't do anything right now besides comfort Helen." She patted Nikola's knee, then stood again. "I'm going out." Nigel gave her a look.

"It's almost three in the morning! Where on Earth could you possibly be going?" he demanded. Kiri rolled her eyes, smiling.

"I'll be back before curfew, _Father_," she replied teasingly. She ruffled Nigel's hair, did the same to Nikola, then disappeared out the door.


	5. Beaten

**So here's another chapter. I get the feeling these chapters are going to keep coming rather quickly. The next one is going to be a lot of back tracking and stuff like that. Sometime in the next couple of chapters will be an argument between Gregory and Kiri, so you can look forward to that. So, apparently I'm going to have this done by like, tomorrow at the rate I think I'll be going. I'll get at least one more chapter done today, but I want to space the update out for those of you who only read one a day or whatever. Anyway, enjoy.**

James had been called to another murder scene. It had been almost two weeks since any of them had last seen Kiri, and this was the third murder in that time. James scrubbed a hand over his face as he looked at the body. Whoever it was that was murdering the women was getting angry. This body was even more gruesome than the last. James finally stood and turned away, eyes sweeping over the witnesses the others had rounded up. Most of them were obviously homeless, with tattered clothes and dirty skin. One girl stood out to him. She had her left arm in a make-shift sling, and her right leg was clearly broken. Her face was covered in dirt and bruises, but she was watching everything with bright green eyes, an interested look on her face. James approached her, and she looked up at him, grinning.

"Hello James," she greeted. James's eyes widened.

"Kiri?" he asked. Kiri nodded, and James gently guided her down so she was seated. "What the bloody Hell happened to you."

"I got into a fight," Kiri replied sheepishly. James took his jacket off and wrapped it around her before gently lifting her into his arms. Kiri instinctively curled closer to him, shivering slightly.

"Come on, I'll take you to Helen's and get you warmed up," he told her, carrying her towards his carriage. Kiri shook her head violently.

"Take me to Nika," she whispered. That was the last coherent thing he heard before she started muttering in Serbian. James told his driver to take them to Nikola's, sending one of the policemen to let Helen know they had found Kiri. He set Kiri on the bench in the carriage, wrapping her in a blanket.

"Who did this?" he asked quietly. Kiri mumbled something in Serbian, then closed her eyes and fell asleep. James started checking her injuries, though there wasn't a lot he could do in the dimly lit carriage. He was just beginning to wrap the blanket around her again when the carriage stopped and someone knocked on the door. James opened the door to see Helen.

"Your police friend found me in the market," she told him as she climbed in. They shut the door and the driver started driving again. They arrived twenty minutes later, and James picked Kiri up again and carried her inside. Nigel was sitting on the sofa, and they could hear Nikola in his room. Nigel jumped up and opened Kiri's door, and James laid her gently on the bed.

"What happened? How'd you find her?" Nigel asked. Helen went to work tending to Kiri's broken arm and leg.

"She was at our latest crime scene," James replied. Nikola came out of his room, curious about the voices, and went straight to Kiri's side. Kiri woke up slightly, looking up at Nikola from beneath drooping eyelids. She grinned once she registered who it was.

"Hey Nika," she greeted. Nikola brushed some hair out of her eyes.

"Hello, Sestrice," he whispered, smiling back. "We missed you." Kiri leaned into his touch.

"I'm cold," she complained, pouting. Nikola chuckled.

"Just wait until Helen's done with your leg and you can get warmed up, alright?" He glanced down at Helen, who was wrapping Kiri's leg in bandages. The others remained quiet, knowing how worried Nikola had been, and knowing he was the only one likely to get any information out of her. Kiri nodded. She was already beginning to warm up, though she was still shivering slightly. Helen finished what she was doing, and Nikola pulled a quilt over Kiri, kissing her forehead. Kiri fell asleep soon after, and they all moved out to the living room. Nikola went straight to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of wine, downing it angrily.

"I'm going to find out who did this and I'm going to _kill_ them," he growled. Nigel sighed.

"Remember what we said last time? You're not going to clear your name if you murder someone," he pointed out. Nikola looked over at him. Helen nodded from behind Nigel.

"Niko, we're all angry. But we can't go around killing people just because they've made us angry." She rested her hand on Nikola's arm. "All we can do right now is make sure Kiri gets better." Nikola nodded, disappearing back into Kiri's room. James followed him and sat down on the corner of Kiri's bed. Nikola was sitting next to Kiri on the bed, absently playing with her hair.

"I know I already asked but do you know where she went that night?" he asked. Nikola shook her head.

"She just left." He looked down at Kiri. "You know how she is. She never tells us anything." James nodded, smiling slightly.

"Alright. I'll leave you two alone." He squeezed Kiri's good hand and left.

Kiri slept until noon two days later. When she finally woke up, it was all Nikola could do to keep her from trying to bounce out of bed to do something. He lifted her up and carried her into the living room, putting her on the couch. Nikola sat next to her, with Helen on her other side. The four of them had barely left the apartment since she'd been found. Kiri leaned against Nikola, seeing the question in their eyes.

"You're not going to like this," she murmured. "After I left, I…went to confront John." Helen looked at her, furrowing her brow.

"He only hit me once," she pointed out. Kiri shrugged.

"He already ruined Nika's life." She pressed closer to him. "He's the one who did this." She paused, not certain if she wanted to add the next part. "He's the one who killed all those women."


	6. Flashbacks and Truths

**I know I promised this last night, and I technically had it finished last night, but I decided it was too short so I had to add all the Helen stuff at the end to this. Anyway, the flashback took a while because I know when I originally wrote up Kiri's injuries, I had a scene between John and Kiri already written out, but I lost it, so I had to come up with a new one and I have problems with fight scenes. Also, it took a really long time to get just the right amount of sadistic mixed with charm for John. He kept either being too sadistic (in one version he told her he wanted to kill her slowly and then purposely stepped on her leg to break it) or being too charming and not actually doing anything. **

**Anyway, I'm not 100% sure about the voices. I've only seen like, two episodes of Sanctuary in the last six months and I couldn't watch any before writing this, so I'm just going off of what I remember about them and their voices in my past fics. Enjoy, let me know what you think, the standard.**

Kiri's declaration was met with a great deal of surprise from the others. Nigel and Nikola had both had their suspicions, but to hear such a blatant accusation was still a shock. Helen had the biggest reaction. She was on her feet, glaring at Kiri.  
"I know you've never liked John, but I didn't believe you would accuse him of murder," she spat. Kiri held her gaze evenly.  
"Is it truly so hard to believe, Helen?" she asked. "He's been violent since the day we met him." She could see that Helen wasn't convinced, and she looked to Nikola and Nigel for help.  
"It's...is it possible you're mistaken?" Helen asked. She still didn't believe what Kiri was saying. She couldn't believe it. John had a violent streak, sure, but to think that he was actually murdering people was...it couldn't be possible. He was a kind person at heart, really. Kiri shook her head.  
"I was...I saw him kill the most recent three." She pressed closer to Nikola as she began sharing what had happened to her.

_Kiri left that night with the intention of doing more investigating into the murders. She knew that James and the police were doing their best to find out what had happened, but Kiri was friends with a lot of the people in Whitechapel who would never speak with police or investigators. She made her way to Whitechapel, sticking to alleys and backroads to avoid seeing anyone who could report her whereabouts to Helen or James. _  
_She turned a corner in time to see John slit a woman's throat. He looked up and saw her, and she hardened her gaze as she glared at him. John walked towards her, putting his blade away._  
_"Kiri, how nice to see you," he greeted. He stopped a few feet in front of her, his eyes daring her to say something about what she'd just seen. Kiri held his gaze._  
_"Hello, John," she responded, smiling politely and curtseying slightly. "Wouldn't Helen be interesetd to know what you've been doing in your spare time?"_  
_"She's never going to know," John hissed. "Besides, who cares about a few whores anyway?" He moved forward, grabbing Kiri's arm. "As for you, girl, you've been far too much trouble." He jerked her arm, dislocating her shoulder in the process, then threw her into a pile of empty boxes. She grunted in pain as the wood shattered beneath her and she looked up at John._  
_"What are you going to do, kill me?" she asked. _  
_"Death is far too good for you. I want to see you fall." He approached her, looking down at where she was slumped on the ground. "You always have to meddle. If you had just let things go we wouldn't be here." He lifted her up and threw her into the opposite wall, and there was a sickening crack as her leg broke. John spat at her, then left, chuckling to himself as he did._  
_Kiri stayed there for a few minutes, waiting to make sure he was definitely gone before popping her shoulder back into place. She stood up and hobbled to the small free clinic that catered almost exclusively to the lower class and the people who didn't wish to be found. She was well-known there, often going there for her medical needs. Since the clinic worked beneath the law and didn't get money, they didn't have any of the new technologies that a regular doctor had, and all they could do for Kiri was make her a sling and set her bone._

While Kiri shared what had happened, Nikola held her close, careful of her injured arm. Helen watched her for a moment, then left, slamming the door behind her. Kiri flinched, fidgeting slightly. James smiled gently at her.  
"It's not your fault, Kiri. Anything that happens now is John's fault for starting this." He reached out to touch her good hand. Kiri smiled at him, nodding slightly, though she didn't look convinced.  
"Sestrice, why didn't you change? Minku's bigger, isn't she?" Nikola asked quietly, looking down at the girl. Kiri nodded.  
"She is, but I had a lot of reasons to confront him that Minku doesn't have. And I can't change when I'm injured without causing more damage." Kiri closed her eyes, yawning. Nikola ran his fingers through her hair.  
"Do you want to go to bed?" he asked. Kiri just nodded, wrapping her good arm around Nikola's neck as he picked her up and carried her into her bedroom, settling her in under the blankets. Kiri curled up and fell asleep almost immediately. Nikola stroked her hair gently before kissing her temple. He stood and left the room, closing the door behind him.  
Helen returned an hour later looking shaken, her eyes red with unshed tears. Nikola had barely gotten the door open when she hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest. He looked down at her in shock, then wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back.  
"Kiri was right. I-I went to talk to him, and John was just leaving, so I followed him. He killed a woman, Niko. I saw him kill her in cold blood." Helen fisted her hands in Nikola's shirt, holding on tightly. Nikola pulled away slightly, gently brushing Helen's hair away from her face.  
"I'm so sorry, Helen. You know I would give anything to have it be anyone else," he murmured. Helen nodded, then pulled away completely, her eyes wide.  
"Oh, Niko, I'm the one who should be sorry. I don't know how I ever could have thought it was you." She looked up at him, and Nikola smiled.  
"John has always been able to convince people of anything. I don't blame you, Helen." He moved to the kitchen, gettting a kettle ready before putting it over the fire. He guided Helen to the couch, where she sat curled up in a corner. Nikola sat down next to her, close enough to offer comfort without being inappropriate about it.  
"Do you want to tell us what happened?" Nigel inquired from where he was sitting.  
"No. I simply wish to...rest. Could I stay here for the night?" Helen looked up at them, and Nigel and Nikola both nodded.  
"Kiri already offered you her room earlier, I'm sure she wouldn't mind you staying in there now. James and I can share my room, and Nikola will be out here, like always," Nigel assured her. Helen smiled, standing up.  
"Then I shall retire for the night. I will talk to you all in the morning. Good night." With that, she disappeared into Kiri's room. Nigel and James went to bed not long after that, and Nikola spent the night on the couch reading.


End file.
